


get drunk off one sip (just so i can adore you)

by overcomewithlongingfora_girl



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Awkward Crush, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, Drinking & Talking, Drinking Games, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fun, Getting Together, It's Zuko's Birthday, M/M, Secret Crush, Sokka Has A Big Ole Crush, Spin the Bottle, Truth or Dare, Underage Drinking, the girls have a plan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 12:14:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overcomewithlongingfora_girl/pseuds/overcomewithlongingfora_girl
Summary: Zuko doesn't tell anyone it's his birthday, but Mai and Ty Lee remember, and they have big plans for oblivious, nervous Zuko, and extremely awkward, extremely lovestruck Sokka.
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 606





	get drunk off one sip (just so i can adore you)

“Hey, so, how old is your sister, anyway?”

Sokka glances suspiciously across the table at Ty Lee. They’re the last ones left after lunch – Sokka because he’s dropped his latest carving project and is trying to find it under the table, and Ty Lee because…well, he’s probably about to find out. “Too young for you,” he informs the little gymnast, because she’s flirted with him enough that he’s wary of her appetite. Apparently, Mai is not the jealous type, and Ty Lee is, well…the polyamorous type. If it makes them happy, it’s no problem for Sokka – at least not until Ty Lee starts asking after his baby sister. But at Sokka’s guarded response, Ty Lee tips back her head and laughs, long and loud enough that Sokka glances around for listeners. 

“I’m not trying to _hook up_ with your _sister.”_ She rolls her eyes, then sighs thoughtfully. “Although she _is_ cute…”

“She’s also fourteen.”

“Darn.” Ty Lee shakes her head. “That is too young.”

Sokka straightens, casting a narrow look at the girl just to drive the point home. “That’s what I said.”

“Not for hooking up!” Ty Lee rolls her eyes. “For Zuko’s birthday!”

“Zuko’s…what?”

“It’s his _birthday!”_ Ty Lee hops on one foot, seemingly for emphasis. “Next week!”

Opening his mouth, Sokka is about to express his surprise and dismay that Zuko didn’t even _tell_ them – and then he reconsiders. He’s dismayed, sure, but is he at all surprised that Zuko didn’t tell them about his birthday?

Absolutely not.

“So…are you planning something?” Sokka strives to sound casual when what he really wants to do is start making lists of supplies and gifts and guests. If Ty Lee lets him make a plan, better yet, a _schedule –_

“Mai and I have it all figured out!” Ty Lee trills, and Sokka deflates, just a little. Of course, the Fire Nation probably has some weird formal birthday ritual, with bowing and titles and suits with pointy shoulders. “You’re coming, of course,” Ty Lee continues, and Sokka brightens up again.

“Shouldn’t everyone be coming? We could make dinner together or something. Katara could make a cake.” Sokka thinks wistfully of the sugar frosting Gran-Gran could whip up in twenty minutes flat, but Ty Lee is already shaking her head.

“I’m sure there will be some kind of dinner and everything with Uncle Iroh and the whole gang. _I’m_ talking about after, when the real fun starts.”

Because it’s Ty Lee, and because he’s been burned before, Sokka has to ask. “This isn’t some kind of sex thing, is it?”

“Why do you _always_ think it’s a sex thing?!”

“Because of the – of the time with the-”

Sokka’s spluttering, red-faced, but Ty Lee cuts him off with a sigh. “The time with the monkey-bats.”

“ _Yes,_ the time with the monkey-bats.”

“Okay, well it was one time.”

“Once was enough!”

Ty Lee heaves an exaggerated sigh. “Okay. Fine. That’s fair. But trust me, this isn’t a sex thing. It’s a sweet sixteen birthday tradition!”

She declares it so proudly, and Sokka is loathe to burst her bubble, but, well…

“Isn’t Zuko turning seventeen?”

Rolling her eyes that hard probably isn’t good for her, Sokka thinks, as he watches Ty Lee’s face. “I _know_ he’s turning seventeen. But he missed his sweet sixteen, because he was…well, he was traveling with his uncle.”

Frowning, Sokka shoots her a perplexed look. “He didn’t even come home for his birthday?”

“Well…no.” Why does Sokka get the sense there’s something here he’s missing? Ty Lee glosses over the awkward moment quickly. “Anyway – it’ll just be the four of us.”

“Oh.” Sokka blinks. “Oh, like you, me, Zuko, and Mai?”

“Yep! It’ll be so much fun.”

“Yeah…” Sokka scratches his head. “Don’t you think…maybe…I mean, you guys have known each other for so long, don’t you think maybe it’ll be…I don’t know, weird, if I’m there?”

“No-o.” Ty Lee rolls her eyes again, but this time, it’s friendly. “Zuko _loves_ you. He definitely wants you there.”

“Oh.” There’s a funny little jump in his chest when Ty Lee says that, the _loves you_ part. “Well, if he wants me to come, I guess. I mean, of course. If that’s what he wants.”

“Well, that’s what we know he wants,” Ty Lee explains, businesslike. “It’s a surprise, so he doesn’t actually know, but, I mean, come on. He wants you there.”

“Oh.” A little disappointing, but fine. Zuko’s closest childhood friends think Sokka should come, so that’s a good sign, right? “And, um, why can’t the others come?”

“Sok-ka.” Ty Lee groans his name like it’s an insult. “Because we’ll be _drinking._ Don’t be so dumb.”

“Drinking. Oh. Okay. Wait. What?”

_

The thing is that Sokka kind of has a big old crush on Zuko. It’s one of those slow-burning things, so by the time he noticed it, he was so far gone already that he didn’t know what it felt like to _not_ be head over heels for Zuko. It’s bizarre because the guy started out as their enemy. Sokka had hated him. Hated him!

And so he was completely unprepared when it turned out he was kind of a little bit in love with him.

The firebender was just…he was hot, okay? Ridiculously muscular for a sixteen-year-old, and the golden eyes? _Completely_ unfair. And he was funny. He laughed at Sokka’s jokes. He was so protective of the little gang, took such good care of all of them while they stayed with him in the Fire Nation. And, and he’d been with Sokka at Boiling Rock, one of the scariest experiences of Sokka’s _life._ And he was just so unexpected. Unexpectedly vulnerable, and unexpectedly kind, and unexpectedly sweet, when he complimented Sokka’s carvings, or his sparring technique. When Suki was around, it was easy to remember that they were just really, really good friends, and if Sokka touched Zuko’s hand at dinner, or hugged him a little too long, it was because the poor boy had never had enough affection his whole sad sorry life.

Then Suki left. She needed to go back to Kyoshi, needed to collect the warriors and spend some time at home and figure some things out.

And Sokka was left to figure his own things out. Namely his big, unwieldly, inconvenient crush on the fucking _Fire Lord,_ of all people.

So why not get drunk with him, right? What’s the worst that could possibly happen?

Sokka knows he shouldn’t. He _knows_ that. But it’s just not in him to say no.

_

Ty Lee has informed Sokka that he needs to bring a bottle of something alcoholic to their little afterparty, but that’s easier said than done. Ty Lee has her carny friends, and Mai can steal a bottle from her parents’ liquor cabinet, but it turns out that even if you risked your life in war, the shopkeeper will look at you with narrow eyes and tell you your babyface can get lost.

So, in desperation, Sokka goes to Mai.

Mai unnerves Sokka, because her facial expression never seems to change, even at his dumbest jokes. She doesn’t even roll her eyes, just looks blankly at him as if he’s speaking another language. It’s worse than groaning, having no reaction at all. Truth be told, being Zuko’s ex-girlfriend doesn’t help. Even though she’s dating Ty Lee now. Even though from little jokes between the two, Sokka is about ninety percent sure that Zuko is gay, and the match was always just political. Despite everything, Sokka has this paranoid superstition that because she once dated him, something in her is going to recognize the desperate, hopeless affection in him. And if Zuko found out about Sokka’s out-of-control embarrassing crush, the Water Tribe warrior just might die.

So it’s a true mark of how desperate he is that he finally corners Mai after an afternoon of hanging out in one of the courtyard gardens.

Zuko’s already left for some meeting. It’s a bit of a surprise to all of them when they realize that they’ve just been hanging out with the two Fire Nation girls, without their mutual friend as a buffer. As they leave for dinner, Ty Lee leads the way, talking animatedly to Aang about some shared spiritual belief. Katara’s doing her best to follow the conversation about spirits and chakras and auras, and Toph is just trying not to get left behind.

Perfect. Now Sokka is trailing behind with Mai. Which is perfect. “Hey, Mai.” She looks him up and down, impassive, and then starts to walk after the group. Sokka trots to catch up. “Wait, wait, wait, I need your help.” She stops looks at him with her flat dark eyes.

“Okay.”

Well, that’s just…super encouraging. “Ty Lee says I need to bring, um, a drink. To Zuko’s thing. The thing for Zuko. Next week.”

A small smile cracks Mai’s impassive mask. “Yeah. Zuko’s sweet sixteen.”

“Well…I can’t get anyone to sell me…booze.” The word feels awkward on Sokka’s tongue. He’s trying to be casual about this, but it’s not like he’s ever gotten _drunk_ before! When his father left with all the other men and young men of the water tribe, Sokka had been only thirteen. He wasn’t going to drink with Gran-Gran and Katara, was he?

Sokka isn’t sure how much of that he says out loud, because when he looks up, Mai is staring at him. It is, as always, impossible to read an answer in her face. “Just come with me,” she finally says, resignedly. “They don’t refuse me at the store. My parents are too powerful.”

More time with Mai. “Great!”

_

Sokka’s never bought alcohol before, but he’s not going to tell Mai that. He’ll just pick out a bottle that looks…good. This one looks good, right? He holds it up, pretending to evaluate it, but really, he’s glancing at Mai out of the corner of his eye.

She wrinkles her nose. “You can afford that?”

“Nope.” Sokka doesn’t even need to look at the price, after hearing that tone in Mai’s voice. “No, I definitely cannot.”

There’s something that might be amusement in Mai’s voice when she speaks. “You might have more luck in this section.” Pointing to the back, Mai follows Sokka to a section where the bottles are made of thinner, shittier glass. He picks up something called soju, and darts a glance at Mai, who shrugs, clearly aware that he’s looking for her advice. “Looks fine to me.”

“Good. Good, good, good, I, uh, I thought that too. I like this stuff.”

“You do not.” Mai rolls her eyes.

Making a face, Sokka heaves a sigh. “Okay, fine, I’ve never had it before. I’m not a teenage alcoholic. Boohoo.”

Incredibly, this is what cracks Mai’s façade. “You’re kind of funny.” She gives absolutely no indication of laughter, not even a smile, but the words, at least, are encouraging. “I get why Zuko likes you so much.”

Another flash of warmth runs through Sokka. It’s not a big deal – it shouldn’t be a big deal! They’re friends. They’ve all been friends for awhile, so of course Zuko likes him. But, but, but. It still makes Sokka’s heart swell.

Again, Sokka isn’t sure if he said some of that out loud, or if Mai is a mind reader, because she responds to that, too. “I know Zuko can be hard to read sometimes.”

“Yeah! Yeah, just, I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I have no idea where I stand with him. Not like he doesn’t like me, but just that…there’s so much he doesn’t tell me. And so much I don’t know about him.” Sokka doesn’t know why he’s telling Mai all this, but it’s all just kind of coming out of his mouth in a nervous stream he can’t stop.

The girl nods. “He’s guarded. But he really likes you.”

Nodding, Sokka tries to mimic Mai’s stoic expression, but he doesn’t think he’s doing a very good job hiding his smile. That’s okay. He’s finally getting to Mai, and he can tell because she, for once, is having a hard time masking her smile, too.

_

The first part of Zuko’s birthday goes…pretty well? The young Fire Lord looks uncomfortable, almost to the point of physical pain, every time someone reminds him it’s his birthday and they’re celebrating it. When they’re just talking or joking around though, he’s happy. Sokka keeps watching him, carefully, in the in between moments when someone else has just made a joke and everyone’s laughing. In those moments, Zuko keeps looking around at everyone, smiling, looking just so happy that they’re all here together. And Uncle Iroh keeps bringing them all cups of tea, and at the end, everyone has gifts for Zuko.

When the gifts come out, Zuko moans like he might die and his face goes bright red. “Seriously, guys,” he says, hands coming up to cover his face. “I don’t need anything, I don’t-”

“Well, too bad!” Toph declares it loudly, slamming her gift down on the table in front of Zuko. She insisted on wrapping it herself, so it’s a little wonky, but given that she’s continued scamming people in the capital, it’s also the most expensive. When he opens the box, Zuko’s eyes go wide and shocked. Toph has bought him some necklace made with gold and red jewels, and at the sight of it, Uncle Iroh drops his tea and doesn’t have the breath to apologize when the cup shatters on the floor.

“Toph, this is…Toph…” Zuko laughs nervously, scratching his head. “I…where did you get this?” There’s a note of panic in his voice.

“Don’t freak out, Sparky.” Toph looks smug at everyone’s stunned reactions. “I bought it legally.”

“But where’d you get the money to legally buy it?”

“Shut _up,_ Katara!”

“Well.” Katara sighs. “My present isn’t as expensive as Toph’s, but…here.” She smiles at him, and Zuko smiles back, sweet and real. He unwraps the square package to reveal a book of plays. Once again, Zuko looks utterly shocked.

Turning the book over in his hands, he glances up at Katara with bright red cheeks. “How’d, um…how’d you know I liked…?”

Pleased, Katara shrugs. “You talked about going to the theater with your mom. It was an educated guess.”

“It was a good one.”

“My turn!” Ty Lee puts a package of her own down on top of Katara’s book, and Zuko rolls his eyes good-naturedly, but obliges. When he opens it, Zuko is relaxed enough that he laughs out loud at the tunic that Ty Lee’s bought him. It’s embroidered, and it would certainly look good on a circus performer. Not Zuko, though. As if he would ever, _ever_ wear it.

“Thank you, Ty Lee.” Zuko is trying to swallow his smirk. “This is definitely…unique.”

“I got you a knife,” Mai announces. “I didn’t wrap it, because I forgot.” She tosses the knife, in a neat leather sheath, onto the table. For once unguarded, Mai grins at Zuko, and he grins back, and the easy intimacy between the two is so rare for either one that all of them are rapt.

Uncle Iroh has brought Zuko, in classic style, some nice teas, and Aang contributes a drawing of the group all together and smiling. “I tried to draw it myself,” Aang admits with a self-deprecating smile, “but I’m just not that good an artist.”

Whoever Aang paid, they managed to capture everyone’s grinning faces, and the sight of it has all of them smiling, and at least on Sokka’s end, feeling soft inside.

Next to all their gifts, most of them expensive, Sokka feels small putting forward his carving. It’s a figure of a dragon on a leather cord. It’s one of his best carvings yet, but next to Toph’s necklace, it’s really not much. Zuko’s blinding smile, as he turns the little figure over in his hands, makes Sokka feel a lot better.

Then, after presents, it’s time for dessert. There’s some traditional Fire Nation dish that involves setting the dish on fire before it’s served, which is exactly the kind of extra, ridiculous, really cool showmanship that Sokka has come to expect from the Fire Nation. When it’s time to eat, Aang smears whipped cream across his face like a moustache. They’re all cracking up, and Toph gets annoyed because she can’t tell what’s so funny. Aang is laughing too much to answer her, and, only half-kidding, she dumps her water glass into his lap. After that, the evening is pretty much unsalvageable, because Team Avatar is shrieking and threatening to throw food at each other. Ty Lee gets into it, but Mai and Zuko and Uncle Iroh look more than a little horrified. The group makes a quick exit from the dining room, and Sokka feels certain that Uncle Iroh presses a few spare coins into the attendants’ hands as they leave.

_

After dinner, it’s pretty easy to slip away from Aang and Toph and Katara. They’re all still bickering, and Ty Lee and Mai are bringing Zuko along with them, headed down a different hallway. Jogging slightly to catch up, Sokka follows the Fire Nation group, already feeling slightly nervous. When he reaches the group, Zuko looks surprised, then pleased. 

“Oh, hey, Sokka.” He pauses, and when Mai and Ty Lee pause with him, his eyes narrow. Apparently, he thought they all just happened to be walking together. Man, is this guy unobservant. “What’s going on?”

“Afterparty!” Ty Lee claps her hands together delightedly, and Zuko groans.

“No. No way. I have work in the morning.”

“It’s tradition to get wasted on your sweet sixteen,” Mai gives Zuko a look, and Zuko rolls his eyes.

“Okay, well I’m seventeen.”

“You missed your sixteenth. Come on, you’re not getting out of it.”

Zuko whines the whole way back to his chambers, but Sokka can see the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, and he knows they’re doing the right thing. Sokka himself is even a little excited, though still mostly nervous. He’s never been drunk before, has hardly seen anyone drink before. He has absolutely no idea what to expect. He’s nervous. He’s definitely really nervous.

When they enter Zuko’s chambers, the bottles are already sitting on the floor, and Zuko’s eyes go wide. They had to go past three sets of guards just to get here with him accompanying them. “How…?”

“I broke in!” Ty Lee twirls on one foot, looking wholly pleased with herself. Mai smiles at her indulgently, but Zuko looks a little panicked.

“So, that’s definitely a security flaw…”

“Come _on,_ Zuko.” Mai rolls her eyes. “Worry about that later. It’s your _birthday.”_

”Fine,” Zuko groans, “fine. What…what do you guys want to do, then?” Ty Lee and Mai trade satisfied smiles.

“Oh, we have plans.”

_

They start with a game that involves tossing a ball into cups and drinking rice wine. Sokka and Zuko do a serviceable job on their first try, but then it’s Mai’s turn, and she demolishes them. Not a single cup left standing, and she glances over at Ty Lee, who is giggling at the stunned expression of the boys, and shrugs. “Oops.”

Zuko scratches his head. “Yeah, now that I think about it, the whole knife throwing thing may have given her an advantage…”

“Different game!” declares Ty Lee. “But boys – you do have to drink up.”

Zuko and Sokka have about two cups each of rice wine to finish. “Can we play something that’s a little fairer?” Sokka complains, as he downs the first bitter swallow.

It turns out this is easier said than done. They try a game that involves flicking coins at each other’s cups, but again, Mai has the clear advantage, and Sokka and Zuko surrender before they end up finishing the bottle of wine on their own. When the game is bouncing a ball into a cup, it’s Ty Lee who has the advantage, after being in the circus, and then they try something with flipping cups and finally it’s _Sokka_ who has the advantage, but within a round they’ve given up.

“Okay, that’s it. We’re playing Truth or Dare,” announces Mai with a pronounced eye roll. Zuko makes a face at the name, but Ty Lee nods enthusiastically. She Mai have had about a quarter of a drink each half an hour ago, and Zuko and Sokka are still trying to finish the drinks from the game she won so quickly at. Things are definitely getting lopsided, judging by the way the girls seem completely unbothered, and Zuko and Sokka already seem a little unbalanced.

“Truth or Dare! And if you don’t want to do it, you drink.”

“Uh, what’s Truth or Dare?” Sokka’s still not feeling much besides a quiet warmth in his stomach, but he’s bold enough to chance the question instead of faking his way through, so maybe that’s something.

“We’ll ask you to pick truth or dare. If you pick truth, we ask you a question and you have to answer honestly, and if you pick dare, we get to dare you to do something.” Ty Lee smiles winningly, and Sokka finds himself nodding along without even thinking about it.

“It’s a total little kid game,” complains Zuko.

“Is not, and we’re playing. Zuko, truth or dare?”

At Mai’s businesslike question, the young Fire Lord goes red. “I…I…” Mai gives him a _look_ and Zuko sighs. “Fine. Truth.”

“Bo-ring,” Ty Lee sings. “But fine. Did you date anyone while you were away?”

Shrugging, Zuko swirls the liquid in his cup. “I…I went on a few dates with a girl called Jin. When I was in Ba Sing Se.”

Jin from Ba Sing Se. Maybe Zuko isn’t gay? But Mai is rolling her eyes. “That so doesn’t count,” she tells Zuko, and he rolls his eyes right back at her.

“He did answer the question though. Lucky girl, that Jin from Ba Sing Se.” Ty Lee smirks, and Zuko goes pink to the tips of his ears, even though apparently, it doesn’t matter, whatever that means. Sokka is _dying_ to know what that means. “Okay, Ty Lee, truth or dare?”

“Dare!”

“Uh…” Zuko glances around the circle. “I don’t know.”

“Agni, Zuko, don’t be so boring.” Mai casts a disapproving look his way. Turning to Ty Lee, she looks her girlfriend up and down evaluatively. “Okay, I have one, but it won’t be any good until you’re drunker. None of the dares will. Do truth, for now.”

“Fine,” Ty Lee sighs. “Truth.”

“Who was your first crush?” Zuko’s happy to let Mai take the question, but Ty Lee rolls her eyes at it.

“You _know_ this. Of course it was Azula.”

Zuko spits out his mouthful of rice wine. “ _Azula?”_

“I was eight.” Ty Lee shrugs. “She was cu-ute. And scary.”

Mai lifts an eyebrow. “Did you like her because she was cute, or did you like her because she was scary?”

Smiling impishly, Ty Lee shakes her head. “Now _that’s_ cheating,” she tells Mai, pretending to scold. “You already had your question. It’s my turn. Sokka!”

Caught completely off guard, Sokka starts. He’d been content to watch the firebenders interact and nurse the buzzy warmth growing in his stomach. Now, he looks over at Ty Lee, slightly panicked, and decides to stick with what’s been safe for the others. “Truth?”

“Hmm…” Ty Lee taps her chin, and then her eyes light up. “Tell the monkey-bat story!”

Eyes going wide, Sokka shakes his head furiously. “Nope. No way. Absolutely not. No thank you.” Zuko looks curious, but it’s just occurred to Sokka that Zuko is probably the only one who _doesn’t_ know, given the way Mai is smirking, and the fact that Ty Lee was there. Is that a little unfair? Sure. Is he going to rectify it? Absolutely fucking not.

“Okay, then drink,” Mai instructs him with a pointed look. Sokka takes a generous swallow of the rice wine and finds that the warm feeling in him is spreading, spreading.

“Mai? It’s Mai’s turn, right? Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“So _boring!”_ Ty Lee contributes, pouting.

“Um…who was your first crush?”

Another eye roll, like it’s obvious. “Zuko.” Zuko blushes, although the wine he’s still sipping tentatively might have something to do with it. “He was older, and he was cute.” Zuko ducks his head. “And he was nice to me.”

There’s Zuko’s head coming up, to smile tentatively at her. Ty Lee interrupts the moment. “ _Now_ we all take a drink because we finished a round.”

“Zuko and I are already drinking plenty,” complains Sokka, but Ty Lee insists, so they all have another big swallow, and Sokka well and truly feels it now. It’s just…bubbly, and buzzy inside him, and it makes him want to grin like an idiot across the circle at Zuko, who is fighting a smile of his own. Even Mai seems to have relaxed the smallest bit, and Ty Lee is bending herself into shapes as she waits for the next round to start. “Go on, Mai! Ask someone something.”

“Ty Lee. Which of the boys is cuter?” On cue, both boys in question blush, and Ty Lee giggles.

“You _know_ I’ve had a crush on Sokka for ages.”

Sokka’s cheeks are on fire, and he doesn’t want to look at either Ty Lee or Mai, but then he makes eye contact with Zuko and both of them lose themselves in a fit of giggles. “They’re for sure drunk,” Ty Lee tells Mai confidentially.

“Not drunk yet.” Mai sounds bored. “Definitely tipsy, though.”

When they’re done cracking up, Sokka has tears running from his eyes. As he swipes at his face, Ty Lee turns to Zuko. “Truth or dare?”

“Uh, truth.”

“Who’s hottest?”

Cue bright red Zuko. “What?”

“Who, in the room, is the hottest?”

Rather than answer, Zuko grabs for his cup. Watching his throat move, Sokka bites his lip. He’s so warm. He feels so warm. Who was Zuko thinking about? Could be Mai, but then why would he be afraid to say it? Could be Ty Lee, and he’s worried about hurting Mai’s feelings. Could be…Could be Sokka. It’s Sokka’s turn to swallow, hard.

“Sokka?” Zuko’s looking curiously at him, and Sokka blushes. Tui and La, he thought he was already blushing. “Truth or dare?”

“Um, truth.”

“Who…um, who…”

“What turns you on?”

Ty Lee’s voice is so innocently inquisitive, and Sokka _yelps,_ because his face can’t turn any redder at this point. “W-what?!”

“Answer the question.” Mai’s examining her nails. “Or drink.”

Sokka takes a healthy swallow of his rice wine, starting to feel a little unsteady. “Um, Mai? Truth or dare.”

“You asked me last time,” grouches Mai.

Rolling her eyes, Ty Lee flaps a hand at Sokka. “Ignore her, she’s being a grump.”

“What’s…what’s your favorite thing about Ty Lee?”

“Aww,” Ty Lee grins, and Mai smiles too.

“She makes me happy.” That’s sweet enough that they all just appreciate it for a moment. “And she’s really flexible.” Now Mai’s smirking, and they’re all giggling, and Ty Lee looks immensely proud of herself.

“New rule!” she announces, clapping her hands. “We’ve done enough truth. Now _only_ dare.”

“That’s not fair!”

“Make a law about it, Fire Lord,” snarks Mai. “Your turn, Zuko. Sit in Sokka’s lap.”

Mouth going dry, Sokka fumbles for his cup, wanting something to do with his mouth, something to do with his hands. He takes an unsteady sip as Zuko bickers with Mai and Ty Lee. The glowering, red-faced Fire Lord tries to take another sip of rice wine, but Ty Lee snatches his cup away from him.

“You’re drinking too much, too fast,” she lectures. “This is your first time. Go sit on Sokka.”

“That’s not – I don’t-”

Zuko’s blush is creeping clear down his neck, disappearing into his collar. Sokka wonders just how far down it goes. He takes another sip of rice wine, feels his head tip and spin. Zuko stands unsteadily, trembling on his legs like a baby cat deer and takes a fumbling step toward Sokka, still looking utterly mortified. However embarrassed he is, Sokka feels worse. If Zuko sits in Sokka’s lap, there’s no way he’s going to miss Sokka’s hard-on.

It’s not his fault! It’s not! Just that the short-sleeved tunic the young Fire Lord is wearing exposes the hard muscle on his arms. His hair falls down over his face in that shaggy, uneven way that makes Sokka weak in the knees. His golden eyes are fairly glowing, and he’s so flushed and giggly and happy and relaxed, it’s…it’s something else, seeing Zuko like this. So yeah. The only thing that’s saved Sokka so far is the loose folds of his tunic, but that’s not going to last much longer.

Zuko must see the hesitation on Sokka’s face, because he swallows hard and ducks his head. “Sokka doesn’t want-”

Maybe it’s stupid, but Sokka will sacrifice his dignity to get that insecure look off Zuko’s face. “Sokka _does_ want,” he says decisively, reaching up and pulling Zuko down. Both of them are more unsteady than Sokka realized. The Fire Lord crashes down on top of him, and as they’re arranging themselves, Sokka shifts Zuko so he’s sitting on Sokka’s thigh, legs over his lap, and hopes that the Fire Lord doesn’t move around too much. Perched there like a bird, Zuko ducks his head and looks entirely too self-conscious still, so Sokka wraps an arm around his waist and squeezes him to make him laugh. Sokka can’t help it. Zuko’s here, so close, he’s in Sokka’s _lap._ Sokka can smell him, and feel the brush of his shaggy dark hair, and wrap his arm tight around his waist without it looking weird. His cheeks are pink, but he’s smiling in this sweet, giggly way, and slinging an arm around Sokka’s shoulders. A satisfied, protective feeling in Sokka’s chest stretches and _roars._

Ty Lee clears her throat loudly, and simultaneously, the boys realize that they’ve just been staring at each other. Turning back to Mai and Ty Lee, Zuko clears his throat with difficulty. “Uh…Ty Lee?”

“Yep!”

“Uhh…” He looks around the circle for help, cheeks heating all over again when he looks down into Sokka’s eyes. Sokka smirks back up at him, and Zuko makes this sound high in his throat, like a cut-off nervous laugh. The warm glow in Sokka’s stomach has turned into something a little reckless, a daring emotion with edges, that makes him hold Zuko tighter, watch his face as his eyes dart around the room. For his part, the Fire Lord pretends he can’t feel Sokka’s eyes, but the blush in his cheeks doesn’t lie. “Um…”

“Do your routine for us,” Mai suggests. “One of your circus routines.”

Obligingly, Ty Lee flips and twists, tipsy enough that she stumbles and falls a few times. It’s entertaining – or it should be entertaining. Sokka’s eyes keep slipping back to Zuko, and half the time that he sneaks glances at the Fire Lord, the Fire Lord is looking back. There’s a bubbly, irrepressible hopefulness rising in Sokka’s chest.

“Mai,” trills Ty Lee, “tell us what Zuko’s like in bed.”

“That’s not fair!” Zuko’s eyes are wide. “Not fair! Not fair! It’s not a dare! And it’s not about her!”

Sokka remains conspicuously silent.

For a long moment, Mai pretends to consider it, tipping her head and looking at Zuko through her eyelashes. “He’s right,” she finally agrees with a sigh.

“Maybe we should just go to bed.”

“Zuko!”

“I’m tired! I have…I have things tomorrow…” He’s all but squirming under their eyes, but he hasn’t attempted to move off Sokka’s lap.

Mai rolls her eyes. “One more game.”

Ty Lee pounces on the empty wine bottle. “Spin the bottle!” Ty Lee looks delighted with herself. “Please, please, please, please? Can we can we can we?”

Zuko goes so red it looks painful, and when Sokka’s eyes flick up to his, Zuko buries his face in Sokka’s shoulder. Mai rolls her eyes. “Fine. But I go first.”

There’s so much going on. Zuko’s still hiding in Sokka’s shoulder, and that on its own is enough to set Sokka’s head spinning. The wine isn’t helping, nor is the heat in the room, the heat in Sokka’s skin, the heat pooling in his stomach. When he looks up from Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee are smirking at him. That doesn’t help either. 

Mai kisses Ty Lee. That’s unsurprising. But then Ty Lee whips the bottle around, and it lands pointing just to the right of Sokka. She could claim that it’s pointing at Mai, but she doesn’t. She tips Sokka’s chin up with two fingers and kisses him.

Ty Lee is very, very pretty. She’s a very, very, _very_ good kisser.

Sokka feels absolutely nothing when she puts her lips on his.

When he opens his eyes, though, Zuko’s face is no longer buried in his chest. He’s sitting up straight again, and he’s glaring at Ty Lee.

“Oops,” the gymnast chirps, looking not sorry at all. “Sokka, it’s your turn!”

“Yeah…” At the sound of Sokka’s voice, Zuko turns back to him, bright golden eyes staring straight down at Sokka, and Sokka swallows hard. “I don’t…uh, I don’t think I need the bottle.”

“We’re gonna get out of here.”

“Do we _have_ to?”

“Ty Lee!”

“Yeah,” mutters Sokka. Zuko is still quiet, just looking at him, this hungry little smile starting to curve up his face. “Yeah, you guys should…should get going.”

_

“I like you.”

The boys are lying in bed, about to drift off, when Zuko speaks. There hasn’t been a lot of talking in awhile. There’s been laughing, and moaning, and this desperate, high-pitched whimper from Zuko that drives Sokka absolutely crazy – but not a lot of talking. Now, Zuko murmurs it across the inches between the two of them as they lie together in his giant bed.

Even after everything, the whispered confession gets a huge, face-cracking smile from Sokka. “I like you too.”

Zuko giggles. He’s never done that before tonight – it’s probably the liquor – but Sokka kind of loves the sound. “I like you,” he repeats, grinning like an idiot. “I really like you.”

“I really like you too.”

Zuko bites his lip, but the smile breaks through anyway. He whispers it, like it’s new, like it’s a revelation. “I _like_ you.”

Unable to resist the urge, Sokka reaches out and hauls Zuko into his chest, close as he can get him. He can feel Zuko smile against his throat. “I like you too.”

“Mmm.”

There’s a sleepy, contented pause, and Sokka is hovering on the edge of unconsciousness when Zuko speaks again.

“So…do you think the girls planned this, or-”

Sokka laughs. “Mai and Ty Lee? They’ll probably expect a thank you note. Bet it’s a part of your birthday gift.” Zuko groans, and Sokka’s willing to bet that the boy in his arms is rolling his eyes. “Which reminds me,” Sokka continues, tapping a quick kiss on Zuko’s nose, which makes the other boy’s breath stutter-stop. “Happy birthday.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this a little quicker than my others, so hope it holds up! Wanted something light after working on the more intense parts of my longfic. 
> 
> I'm looking for oneshot prompts/suggestions, so please comment or find me on tumblr at overcomewithlongingfora-girl! Would love to chat :)


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